Author Interview on Mary Woldering's blog
As a child of maybe 6, I drew comic strips
til I realised that my art wasn't up to scratch. I have been writing since
then. I wrote what would be today deemed fan fiction of tv programs, but back
then I didn't have a name for it. I started writing my own stuff a few years
later.
The Quantum Eavesdropper Vol. 1. It’s science
fiction and it and volume 2 are 180,000 words long. It should be released
Summer 2019. A year after losing his wife, a man gets trapped on the lip of a
black hole. It’s 2095, but he finds that he can communicate at this point in
time with individuals back on Earth at any point in the past from the birth of
telecommunications to far into the future. He could call you on your phone
right now. But can he save his wife from death?
How
important is it to read books when you want to be an author?
To see what's possible and to appreciate
the canonical are two very strong reasons to read.
Do you
remember the first book you read?
No. An early inspiration was Mark Twain's
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
What
book are you reading now?
Beta-reading or editing as-yet-to-be
released novels by Lynn Lamb, Saadon Aksah, Bianca Bowers and David Wells. I
recently finished Life of Pi by Yann Martel (fiction, very impressive writing)
and I’m reading War on Peace by Ronan Farrow (non-fiction, alarming insight
into how Trump is gutting the State Department and the US’s diplomatic corps
across the globe).
To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or
during the process?
No, although it would probably help.
Which
character do you identify with most in your novel?
My current novel is The Perduror and my
hero is a young man named Blythe who finds himself in a DaVinci Code style
mystery. I’d like to think that I can relate to Blythe’s naivety more than I
can relate to Keir Tremayne’s cynicism in my yet-to-be-released The Quantum
Eavesdropper.
How much
of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or
events in your own life?
Well,
it’s all stuff and nonsense, isn’t it? There are certain things that are based
on actual events, but they are exaggerated in my fiction. There is a “ship” / “sheep”
mix-up between Blythe and his (French) love interest in The Perduror that
sort-of happened in real life.
There’s
a scene in The Quantum Eavesdropper where the top of Magdalena’s dress catches
on her charm bracelet at a dinner party. The charm bracelet breaks apart, and
she simultaneously pulls her breasts out over her dress. “My charms! My
charms!” she shouts as the charms fall to the floor, with everyone looking at
her exposed upper body, under the misapprehension that she is referring to her
breasts. That didn’t actually happen, but there was a young lady whose charm
bracelet caught on her dress (without the added exposure).
Tell
us how the atmosphere needs to be for you to be able to write. Example, music
on or quiet etc.
Music’s often good. My villain in The
Quantum Eavesdropper is Zhinny Zhao, and the theme song I use for her is The
Living Daylights by A-ha. In fact, Eavesdropper’s playlist would probably
comprise more than a few Bond themes as there’s lots of political intrigue and
industrial espionage.
What
is one goody you must have at your desk when you’re writing?
Coffee. Unfortunate but true.
Which
part of the publishing process do you detest most?
Probably formatting for publication.
What
is the worst thing you’ve had to overcome before publishing your novel? IF it’s
too personal just make a generalized statement if you can.
The worst thing is probably getting over
the fact that traditional publishing didn’t work out for me. I have novels
sitting on my desktop for years, and I was turned away by agents time and again.
They would often ask for the whole manuscript before saying it wasn’t for them
or they just weren’t feeling it. So four fellow indie writers were putting
together a boxset a couple of years back, and Lynn Lamb convinced me to publish
The Perduror with them. Since then I’ve only put out a short story collection, Fade to Black. Some of
the short stories in that collection have won awards, been broadcast on
national radio, or reached shortlists, so they have some provenance. But
whether trad or indie, I’d rather be published than not, to be honest.
When
you need some extra encouragement who do you turn to?
Yusuf Toropov provides a good ear. He’s a
fellow author and he offers lots of encouragement.
How
do you market your book?
I use Twitter and Facebook. Sales have not
been great to be honest but I never developed a mailing list or anything like
that. It’s something I ought to strongly consider as they say it’s the first
thing a writer should develop. I have yet to buy any advertising for my
publications.
Have
readers ever contacted you? If so, tell us the best thing they’ve said to you.
A few quotes below from people who should
know better!
“The story that cheerfully breaks the rules
and gets away with it.”
“Thanks to the skill of this
storyteller—who concocts a delicious blend of mystery and history—we are blown
away by the premise and the structure. A delight to read from beginning to
end.”
“One of the best opening lines I’ve read.”
“Brilliant comic timing!”
Dialogue that shows “remarkable command
over the spoken word.”
“… a light touch to leave the reader both
pensive and thoroughly entertained.”
“I think one of the best beta readings
I’ve read.”
Tell us how we may get a copy of your
book. (Kindle, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, paperback etc.)
Get The Perduror here:
And my short story collection, called Fade
to Black, is here:
Social
media links and websites?
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